Hinged box



arch 14, 1967 Filed June 13, 1966 FIG.5

FI G.2A

P. BECK 3,308,933

HINGED BOX 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGJ m I 7.. n

P. BECK HINGED BOX arch 14, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 13, 1966 FIG.7

FIG.8

INVENTOH Ffi/L IP 1956K 240 MM ATTORNEYS.

United States PatentO 3,368,933 HINGE!) BOX Philip Beck, New York, N.Y., assignor to Arrow Manufacturing Company, Incorporated, West New York, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed June 13, 1966, Ser. No. 556,929 8 Claims. (Q1. 2il5-1) This invention relates to a hinged box having a moldedplastic frame structure, and interfitted top and bottom portions which may comprise or resemble leather or some similar decorative material. The invention is especially adapted for boxes for packaging jewelry and includes the process of making such boxes.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide a hinged box made partly of plastic, partly of inexpensive flexible material and partly of expensive appearing decorative material, the various parts of which interfit so that they can be readily assembled to produce the finished box.

AmOng other objects of the invention is to provide a box comprising a simple, plastic frame structure which is readily molded and readily combined with other nonplastic portions to form a complete box.

The objects of the invention are attained by providing at least one annular frame structure formed of plastic material to define the configuration of the top or bottom of the box; the annulus is constructed to receive a hinge member at one end and to receive a closure member on the opposite end. The end of the annulus which receives the hinge is also provided with an inwardly extending flange and may be referred to as the flanged end. The end opposite the flanged end is open so that a male mold portion may be readily withdrawn therefrom and may be referred to as the open end.

When the box is to be used for holding watches, for example, an additional insert may be provided to fit within the annulus which becomes the bottom portion of the box.

The annulus is constructed and arranged with a minimum of undercut portions so that it can be readily molded by injection, transfer, or batch molding processes and so that the molded pieces can be readily removed from the mold.

Preferably each of the top and bottom portions of the box, which are connected by a hinge, are formed of an annulus and a closure member as described above.

The top and/or bottom closures for the plastic annuli are advantageously formed with a relatively inexpensive backing of stiff cardboard or similar material which may be laminated or loosely covered with a thin layer of decorative material.

Other and more detailed objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification and appended claims when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the box in open position together with a view of the inside of the top portion.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the annulus Which forms the upper frame portion of the box as seen from above.

FIG. 2A is a partial view of the annulus of FIG. 2 from the bottom thereof.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the top-closing portion of the box.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the bottom-closing portion of the box.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the top and bottom annuli or frame portions, shown in cross section, and the hinge for the box.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the insert for the box.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the decorative covering for an insert for the box.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are top and side views, respectively, of a form for holding a bracelet or wrist watch.

Patented Mar. 14, 1967 FIG. 10 is an exploded view partly in cross section showing how the insert, the decorative covering and the bracelet holder are assembled.

FIG. 11 is a detailed view of an assembled box showing one type of interfitting tongue and groove. structure for the contacting edges of the top and bottom annuli.

The box shown has a regular octagonal configuration with the hinge connecting one octagonal side 11 of the top annuli 16 to one octagonal side 21 of the bottom annuli 29. It is obvious that the box can take any configuration as long as one corresponding relatively straight side is provided on each of the top and bottom for securing the hinge. Thus the box may be of regular or irregular polygonal shape with 3, 4, 5, 6 or more sides, or it can be of generally circular or ellipticalshape having, however, a straight portion for the hinge connection.

Since the top and bottom of the box shown are constructed in a similar manner they will be described together. It will be realized, however, that it may be desirable to construct only the top or only the bottom of a box in the manner to be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, the side walls 11, 12, 13, etc., 21, 22, 23 of the top and bottom annuli may be made fairly thin but the lower edge 15 of the top portion and upper edge 25 of the bottom portion which contact (and can be made to interfit) in the assembled box are formed with internal flanges on all but the hinge-holding sides. Thus, that part of the frame of the box which is visible when the box is open is formed with an attractive wide, decorative, substantially continuous interior flange, which may be beaded and/ or lined with decorative paint (not shown).

When a box has to be formed with an integrally molded bottom portion in accordance with conventional processes, it will be realized that such an internal flange as 15 and 25 cannot be formed thereon since it would be impossible to remove the core of the mold therefrom. The sides 11 and 21 respectively, for the hinges (unlike the other sides), are formed with a slot 16 and 26 respectively to receive the leaves 31 and 31 respectively of hinge 30. The slot 16 is provided with an opening 17 on the inside of the side 11 and two shoulder portions 13 and 18' which are adapted to hold the projections 32 and 33 of hinge leaf 31 when said projections 32 and 33 are bent inwardly after the hinge leaf 31 is inserted in slot 16. Similarly the opening 27 and shoulders 28 and 28' are adapted to hold the crimped ends 34 and 35 of the leaf 31 of the hinge 3t In addition to providing the decorative contacting edges for the mouth of the box, the internal flanges 15 and 25 act as stops for the topand bottom-closing portions 40 and 50 which are inserted therein. The other means for holding the top or bottom closing portions 40 and 50 for the frames 10 and 20 are the studs or projections 19 and 19 formed on sides 13 and 13'. These projections are shown somewhat exaggerated in size for the sake of clarity.

It has already been mentioned that the internal flanges 15 and 25 could not be readily formed on a box part which included the top or bottom covering thereof. FIG. 2 shows the top portion 10 of the box as it looks to a male portion of a mold. It can be seen from FIG. 2 that the only structures of this top portion 10 which would hinder the easy movement of a male or core portion from the inside thereof are the small studs 19 and 19' which are formed by means of cams. The core portions which form the openings or slot 16 for the hinge is withdrawn from the cavity side of the annulus 10 as it is seen in FIG. 2.

The part 40 which closes the top of the box is shown in FIG. 3 on a smaller scale than the parts of FIG. 5. The polygonal body portion 41 is constructed to fill the 3 interior, of-the annulus 10, and rectangular tabs or projections 41-45 and 41'-44 extend against the flange of part10.= It will be noted that tab 46 is shorter than the other tabs as it is to rest against the top 47 of the hinge opening 16 of the upperannulus 10; Slots 47 and 47 are formed in rectangular tabs 43 and 43'; respectively and are located therein so as to fit into the studs 19 and 19 of sides 13 and 13', respectively, when thetop cover is properly inserted in the annulus 10. The top part 40 is creased or scored for ready creasing between the various sides and their respective rectangular tabs. The bottom part 50 for fitting into the lower annulus of the frame is formed similarly. to the part with tabs 5256, etc.

A good grade of cardboard is very satisfactory for forming the top and bottom covers 40 and and such parts' can be stamped from sheet stock. The covers 40. and 50 may have a layer of decorative paper, fabric, plastic leather or other flexible material (see FIG. 11) .bonded thereto. Also a second sheet of cardboard to which a layer of decorative material is laminated, which has been cut to the same size may be loosely applied below the part 40 to provide the inner surface of the box and to be held in place between the tabsof cover 40 or 50 and the annulus 10 or 20 as shown in FIG. 11.

Preferably, also the flanges 15 and 25 are provided with interfitting tongue and groove joints 76, 77 for interlocking alignment of hinged top and bottom. This would not be possible with ordinary boxes unless made with very thick walls.

Boxes of this type are especially suited for packaging wrist watches, bracelets, etc., and it is desirable to provide for easy removal of the item from the box. According to a feature of the present invention, the bracelet or wrist watch holder isseparately formed to fit snugly within the bottom portion-of the box. Thus the part of FIGS. 6

and 10 is formed having the same configuration as the box generally and adapted to slide Within the internal flange 25 of the lower, annulus 20 as shown in FIG. 1. The insert is formed with side walls 66, a shelf or platform 67 and a depressed trough 68 extending between two opposite sides of the insert. In addition, slots 69 and 69"are formed in the platform adjacent two sides other than the two sides between which the depressed trough extends. The slots 69 and 69"receive the ends 71 and 72, respectively of the lining material 74) (see FIG. 7) which is also preferably a laminate of stiff bendable material such as cardboard and a decorative cloth, for example. A gapped oval device 75 of conventional design for insertion inside of the bracelet or strap of a wrist watch is provided and is of such a width to fit within the trough 68 as illustrated in FIG. 10. The oval device 75 is ordinarily formed of metal orplastic covered with fabric and is of sucha thickness that the gap therein permits it to be compressed to smaller configuration to allow it to be inserted in and I expand against a bracelet.

Thus in the manufacture of the box with the insert, the parts 10, 20, 65 and 75,41 and 51' (40 and 50) can all be molded of plastic material in an injection molding machine for example. The parts 40 and 50 can be stamped from sheet material and additional liner materials 70, etc;, and may be stamped from fabric or from cardboard material. Hinge 30 is more or less conventional and isreadily available. Once the parts are formed, the top cover 40 is snapped into place by bending the rectangular tabs upwardly until-the sides meet, positiorh ing the tabs 43 and 43 which include slots 47 and 47'. adjacent sides 13 and 13 of part 10*and pressing until the edges of the tabs reach to the interior flange 15 and until the slots 47 and 47 snap into place over the studs 19 and 19', respectively. The bottom part of the box is assembled similarly. The hinge 30 is inserted in the respective slots for sides 31 and 31 and projections 32, 33,

34 and 35 are crimped to be retained on shoulders 18,

18, 28 and 28., respectively. The assembled insertv 65,

4. 70 and, 75 can then be inserted into the bottom part of the assembled box. It will be realized that various additional materials may be added to improve the appearance of the box such as linings which may include a covering for the hinge as shown at in FIG. 1, decorative coatings for the flanges 15 and 25, etc.

Although a box has been disclsoed inwhich both top and bottom portions are formedwith theimprovedannw lus, it will be realized that only one such part may formed in this way and theother part can be formed in a more conventional way.

The features and principles underlying the invention described above in connection with specific exemplifiestions will suggest to those skilled inthe art many otherv modifications thereof. It is accordingly desired that the. appended claims shall not. be limited to any specific feature or details thereof.

I claim:

1. A hinged box comprisingupper and lower portions and hinge means connecting them together to form. the box,

at least one of said upper and lower portions consisting essentially of an annular frame havingplanar sides substantially parallel to the axis thereof and an internal flanged portion extending radially inwardly from adjacent one end thereof, the-other end of said frame forming an open end,said flanged portion extending around a major portion of the annular frame, said annular frame having a straight side within a region where said flanged portion does not extend and having internal slot means formed in said straight side extending inwardly-from the flanged end of the annular frame, said internal slot means receiving one leaf of a hinge element thereby connecting the upper and lower portions of the box, said flanged portion of the frame forming the exposed inner edge of the box opening,

the interior surface of the annular frame member between .the flange and the open end being substantially free of undercut portions except for at least one pair of relatively short, inwardly extending studs formed opposite to each other on said interior surface,

means covering the open end of said frame member comprising a body portion. of the same size and configuration as the interior opening of said open end, and tabs extending fromthe body portion scored for folding inwardly,.the radial length of said tabs being I of a length such that the inwardly folded ends thereof rest against said internal flange whenuinserted within said annular frame from the open end so that the body thereof is approximately level with the open end of said frame,

at least one pair of said tabs comprising slot means fitted around the pair of studs on the internal surface of the frame member;

2. The hinged box as claimed in claim 1 wherein both upper and lower: portions comprise frame members and covering members.

3. The hinged box as claimed in claim 2 wherein the internalflanges of the upper and lower framemembers are formed With interfitting tongue and groove joints.

4. The hinged box as claimed in claim 1 wherein'the box is formed in the shap of a regular polygon and wherein said hinge receiving internal slot means is formed on one of the sides of said polygon.

5. The hinged box as claimed in claim 2 wherein the box is formed in the shape of a regular polygon and wherein the hinge receiving internal slots are formed on corresponding sides of the upper. and lower annular members.

6. The hinged box as claimed in claim 4 wherein the box is formed in the shape of an octagon.

7. The hinged box as claimed in claim 5 .wherein the box is formed in the shape of an octagon.

6 8. The hinged box as claimed in claim 1 wherein said References Cited by the Examiner Ion/er portion is formed from the annular frame as de- UNITED STATES PATENTS scribed, In combination with an insert means removably fitting within the lower portion from the flanged side 2,200,399 5/ 1940 prlmifls thereof, said insert comprising a trough portion adapted 5 ,733,830 2/1956 Ruskin 22031 to frictionally retain a bracelet holding means therein, a and a gapped, compressible bracelet holding means in OUIS G- MANCENE, P imary Examiner. said trough. 

1. A HINGED BOX COMPRISING UPPER AND LOWER PORTIONS AND HINGE MEANS CONNECTING THEM TOGETHER TO FORM THE BOX, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID UPPER AND LOWER PORTIONS CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF AN ANNULAR FRAME HAVING PLANAR SIDES SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE AXIS THEREOF AND AN INTERNAL FLANGED PORTION EXTENDING RADIALLY INWARDLY FROM ADJACENT ONE END THEREOF, THE OTHER END OF SAID FRAME FORMING AN OPEN END, SAID FLANGED PORTION EXTENDING AROUND A MAJOR PORTION OF THE ANNULAR FRAME, SAID ANNULAR FRAME HAVING A STRAIGHT SIDE WITHIN A REGION WHERE SAID FLANGED PORTION DOES NOT EXTEND AND HAVING INTERNAL SLOT MEANS FORMED IN SAID STRAIGHT SIDE EXTENDING INWARDLY FROM THE FLANGED END OF THE ANNULAR FRAME, SAID INTERNAL SLOT MEANS RECEIVING ONE LEAF OF A HINGE ELEMENT THEREBY CONNECTING THE UPPER AND LOWER PORTIONS OF THE BOX, SAID FLANGED PORTION OF THE FRAME FORMING THE EXPOSED INNER EDGE OF THE BOX OPENING, THE INTERIOR SURFACE OF THE ANNULAR FRAME MEMBER BETWEEN THE FLANGE AND THE OPEN END BEING SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OF UNDERCUT PORTIONS EXCEPT FOR AT LEAST ONE PAIR OF RELATIVELY SHORT, INWARDLY EXTENDING STUDS FORMED OPPOSITE TO EACH OTHER ON SAID INTERIOR SURFACE, MEANS COVERING THE OPEN END OF SAID FRAME MEMBER COMPRISING A BODY PORTION OF THE SAME SIZE AND CONFIGURATION AS THE INTERIOR OPENING OF SAID OPEN END, AND TABS EXTENDING FROM THE BODY PORTION SCORED FOR FOLDING INWARDLY, THE RADIAL LENGTH OF SAID TABS BEING OF A LENGTH SUCH THAT THE INWARDLY FOLDED ENDS THEREOF REST AGAINST SAID INTERNAL FLANGE WHEN INSERTED WITHIN SAID ANNULAR FRAME FROM THE OPEN END SO THAT THE BODY THEREOF IS APPROXIMATELY LEVEL WITH THE OPEN END OF SAID FRAME, AT LEAST ONE PAIR OF SAID TABS COMPRISING SLOT MEANS FITTED AROUND THE PAIR OF STUDS ON THE INTERNAL SURFACE OF THE FRAME MEMBER. 